ENTERTAINING WITH REGIS AND KATHIE LEE

In this unappetizing and tacky effort, Philbin and Gifford (Cooking with Regis and Kathie Lee, not reviewed) combine recipes from guests on their hyperirritating morning chat show with those from their friends and family in chapters organized by holiday (Memorial Day, Easter and Passover, etc.). There are some terrific dishes here, but they are without exception those from professionals, like Daniel Boulud, many of whom have written their own, far superior books. Recipes from friends and relatives could have come from a 1950s ladies' auxiliary cookbook: ambrosia fruit salad with marshmallows and flaked coconut, and jelly thumbprint butter cookies that are virtual cholesterol bombs. The overall presentation is sloppy and disorienting, with boxed information often serving to confuse rather than help. What is a definition of wheat berries doing on a page with a recipe for rendering chicken fat? Worse than the food are the coy, name-dropping anecdotes and tips dripping with self-importance. Gifford says that her trick for staying slim is ``doing an exercise video'' because ``thousands of people will see your fat thighs if you don't.'' Party suggestions sound straight out of the Girl Scouts—for Saint Patrick's Day hosts are instructed to attach an ``O'' to the name of each guest and address them as ``for instance, Mr. O'Steinberg.'' Want to throw the cheesiest party of the year? This is your guide. (First serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild/Better Homes & Gardens Book Club selections)